All-Female X-Men Roster Revealed For Marvel NOW’s ‘XX’

The speculation was correct and the teaser image Marvel released featuring the letters “XX” sure enough indicated that there was a new all-female X-Team headed to comic stands. I took a guess at which characters should probably be included… well, at least I got two correct!

Beginning in April, Marvel will relaunch the adjective-free X-Men starring Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, Psylocke, Rachel Grey, Rogue and Storm, scripted by Brian Wood and drawn by Olivier Coipel. Wood informed USA Today that Jubilee was the true star of the book, although he clarified “I don’t want to make it the ‘Jubilee and friends book.’ They’re all A-list characters — I’ve got to make them all shine.”

Possibly the least well-known member of the roster is Rachel Grey. In regard to her, Wood said, “She’s not as distinctive as others are. There’s different learning curves for each one, but I want to get them all down.”

He admitted requesting Emma Frost for the book, but being denied. “I did ask her for her, though, but she’s busy.”

The X-Men franchise has been known for decades as the home of some of the most dynamic and well-rounded female characters in the medium, starting with Chris Claremont’s 70’s-80’s revamp of the team featuring Storm, Jean Grey (reinvented as Phoenix) and Kitty Pryde. Wood remarked, “Taken as a whole, the women kind of rule the franchise.”

In the interview, Wood stated he wants to “challenge the double standards that have been in superhero books for years, where Wolverine can sleep with anybody but if a female character does it twice, she’s promiscuous.”

“To everybody’s credit, these people are often shot down immediately for being sexist and unfair, but that is a very common thing,” Wood says.

“We’re just going to do it. We’re not going to worry about that. If Kitty or Rogue has basic human bodily urges, tough luck (to those opposed). To me, that’s as much of the X-Men as anything else.”

(Um, Rogue can’t do that, can she? Isn’t that part of her whole “deal?”) So, while this isn’t called “X-Women,” that’s basically what this series is. I’m a big fan of most of these characters, including Jubilee who has maintained a low profile in recent years, so I am really looking forward to this series.

Are you? What do you think of the roster? Would you add or subtract any female X-Men? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts!

Jason Motes

Jason's earliest memory is of watching 'Batman,' followed shortly by a memory of playing Batman & Robin with a friend, which entailed running outside in just their underwear and towels as capes. When adults told them they couldn't run around outside in their underwear, both boys promptly whipped theirs off and ran around in just capes. Jason's father gamely agreed to read him comic books as bedtime stories instead of 'Snow White.' (Super Friends being his favorite.) Jason saw all of the original Star Wars movies (and Indiana Jones and Superman and Star Trek...) in the theaters. Yes, he is old. And grew up in the most GEEKTASTIC decade ever, the 80s, devouring a steady diet of GI Joe, Transformers, Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power and (best of all) Jem! (It totally counts as sci fi! They had a sentient computer that projected holograms!) Jason has studied literature, journalism, film history and has a degree in creative writing (and a minor in psychology) from the University of South Alabama. He has worked as a technical writer and proofreader. These days, most of his creative energy goes into his blog and writing for this site! He lives with the cutest puppies ever.